Virtual Camera Transition for Rearview and Bird's-Eye Parking Views
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle camera systems struggle to provide a seamless and orientation-preserving transition between bird's eye perspective and reversing camera views, leading to potential loss of orientation for the driver during switching.
Innovation Solution
A method that generates a virtual image from multiple camera images, allowing for a continuous shift and rotation of the virtual camera perspective to simulate the view from inside the vehicle, including the interior mirror, thereby maintaining an uninterrupted and clear representation of the environment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If the system switches directly between bird's eye perspective and reversing camera views, then the switching speed is fast and simple, but the driver experiences loss of orientation and disorientation
Solution Approach 1:
The virtual camera position is dynamically adjusted during the transition between bird's eye perspective and reversing camera views. The virtual camera continuously moves from its initial position above the vehicle towards the interior mirror position, creating a smooth animated transition that maintains driver orientation while enabling quick view switching.
Solution Approach 2:
An intermediate transition view is introduced as a mediator between the bird's eye perspective and the reversing camera view. This intermediate view, generated by positioning the virtual camera at the interior mirror location, serves as a bridging state that connects the two extreme perspectives and prevents abrupt orientation loss.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple cameras are used to generate bird's eye perspective, then the overview of the vehicle environment is improved, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of physically moving multiple cameras or complex mechanical structures, the system creates a virtual copy of the camera system through software processing. Multiple real camera images are processed to generate a virtual bird's eye perspective image, and the virtual camera position can be freely adjusted without additional physical hardware.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical approach of physically moving cameras or switching between fixed camera positions with a software-based image processing system. The virtual camera concept allows arbitrary position and orientation changes through computational methods rather than mechanical movement.
Data Source
Figure 1~2a
Figure 2b~3
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AI summary
The invention relates to a method for generating a representation of an environment (U) of a vehicle (1) including the steps of: - capturing respective images by means of a first camera (2) and a second camera (2) - generating a virtual image (31) of a virtual camera (3) from the images, wherein - at least a first perspective, in which the environment (U) of the vehicle (1) is represented from a bird's eye perspective, for a first virtual camera position (33) and a second perspective, in which exclusively an area of the environment (U) of the vehicle (1) rearwards related to the vehicle (1) is represented, for a second virtual camera position (44) of the virtual camera (3) are selectable for the virtual image. In order to allow an improved overview, it is provided that the representation of the environment (U) by the virtual image (31) is adapted to a shift of the virtual camera (3) towards an interior mirror (8) of the vehicle (1) upon switching from the first perspective to the second perspective of the virtual image (31) and to a rotation of the virtual camera (3) upon reaching a mirror plane of the interior mirror (8).